


Enough

by piteouspeculiarity



Series: Defining Home [1]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Hurt TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Minor Injuries, POV TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Running Away, Sad TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Sleepy Bois Inc as Family, TommyInnit Angst (Video Blogging RPF), TommyInnit is Not Okay (Video Blogging RPF)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:34:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27369619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/piteouspeculiarity/pseuds/piteouspeculiarity
Summary: What was it his dad had said, blood coating his knuckles? That he brought too much trouble to the family while giving nothing in return? That he should get out and stay out?It was bullshit. He knew it was bullshit. Knew it in the way anger clenched his fists and quickened his breath. In the way that every now and then, money disappeared from his account with no explanation. He already paid for the Wi-Fi and the electricity, figuring that was fair since he used so much of it. He did his chores, even when the unfairness of them made him clench his jaw. So what if he got into the occasional fight?There was a voice in his head telling him that being beaten up wasn't a fight; he was tall for his age, but skinny and spent his free time playing video games, his chances against one person was low, never mind four. The voice sounded suspiciously like Wilbur, so he ignored it.It was bullshit. So he listened, and he left and he hadn't looked back once.Tommy is alone, injured and so, so tired. He has one destination in mind: Brighton.He just hopes Wilbur will be happy to see him.
Relationships: Technoblade & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), TommyInnit & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson, Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit
Series: Defining Home [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2006428
Comments: 419
Kudos: 4674
Collections: Completed stories I've read, Fics for when I finally convince my friend to leave wattpad for ao3, Found family to make me feel something, MCYT Fic Rec





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First fic for this fandom pog!
> 
> Warnings for: child abuse, feelings of low self-worth, injuries, mentions of being beaten up and swearing.
> 
> Look after yourselves :D

It was cold.

He should have expected it really, the autumn months dwindling away into something harsher, but he'd never been so aware of the bite of the winter until now.

Tommy sighed, wincing when it reminded him of the pain in his chest.

He'd thought the sky would be clearer at night, that he'd get to see the stars. He'd forgotten he lived in London, where anything good was drowned out by fog of the city.

Standing up, Tommy took note of his injuries, walking around a little before stopping, satisfied that the pain wasn't great enough to inhibit any movement.

Not that he had anywhere to move to.

Tugging his hood further over his face, he considered his options: he hadn't known anyone from college long enough to ask them for a place to stay for a night and he'd fallen out of touch with most people from secondary school. Everyone he knew online lived at least a train ride away and he wasn't close enough to ask those that didn't for help.

God, he could imagine the message.

_Hey Vikkstar! Just wondering if I could crash at your place tonight! Let me know the address and I'll be there soon!_

He snorted. Even if he knew someone that lived in London it wasn't that simple — London was a big place.

Besides, his phone had only had about twenty percent when he turned it off and he wanted to make sure that when he turned it back on he made the most of what he had left.

He was suddenly grateful that it was the weekend and he wouldn't have college for a few days — he had time to figure something out.

The moon was high in the sky now and he forced himself to move — his best bet was a train station and the later he arrived the higher the chance that we would be stopped by some well meaning security guard.

A bitter smile rose as he imagined what they'd do. Offer him a ride home? He'd only be forced out again when the car drove away.

What was it his dad had said, blood coating his knuckles? That he brought too much trouble to the family while giving nothing in return? That he should get out and stay out?

It was bullshit. He knew it was bullshit. Knew it in the way anger clenched his fists and quickened his breath. In the way that every now and then, money disappeared from his account with no explanation. He already paid for the Wi-Fi and the electricity, figuring that was fair since he used so much of it. He did his chores, even when the unfairness of them made him clench his jaw. So what if he got into the occasional fight?

There was a voice in his head telling him that being beaten up wasn't a fight; he was tall for his age, but skinny and spent his free time playing video games, his chances against one person was low, never mind four. The voice sounded suspiciously like Wilbur, so he ignored it.

It was bullshit. So he listened, and he left and he hadn't looked back once.

He took a break when he saw the train station, leaning against the wall with a hand against his ribs, breathing heavily.

Tommy was sixteen, he knew people his age who lived alone. He could figure it out.

He slipped into the bathroom, wrinkling his nose when he saw how dirty it was. Luckily, the sink still worked and he took his time rinsing the blood away from his face and hands before looking in the mirror.

He looked tired, and his lip was bust and he was on his way to a black eye but it would do. It had to.

Taking his phone out of his phone case, he felt his knees go weak with relief when he saw his emergency money was still there. His card was at home, hidden, thankfully, but he hadn't wanted to risk trying to grab it and making his parents angrier.

Forty pounds. Was that enough to get to — fuck. He hadn't figured that part out yet.

He looked into his eyes in the mirror, waiting for the answer and getting more and more frustrated when it didn't become obvious.

He forced himself to calm down before he did something ridiculous like cry.

Tubbo, Toby — whatever, he wasn't an option. It was late and he was probably asleep and Tommy looked like shit and he didn't want his friend to see him like that. His fingers shook when he remembered that their dads were friends and he dismissed the option altogether.

There was Wilbur, his mind supplied, but it was Friday night and a good day for streaming and he'd just be imposing anyway. He'd just bring trouble and there was nothing he could do in return and —

His fingers clenched around the edges of the sink.

Wilbur was as good an option as any. All of his friends were streamers and it was getting pretty late, so most of them would be wrapping up by now anyway. Wilbur could be Plan A.

Brighton. So many of his friends lived in Brighton. Even if Wilbur turned him away he'd have more options, more than he had in London at least.

He stood straight, ignoring how his body protested, and pulled the strings of his hoodie to hide some of his face. He was tall and as long as he didn't say much he knew he could buy a train ticket without too much trouble.

He walked out of the bathroom and over to the person at the desk. They looked far too tired to notice anything off. He asked for a ticket to Brighton on the next train and held his breath as he waited for the price, hoping his forty pounds would be enough.

£12.80.

He handed them a twenty pound note and took the change and his ticket before hurrying away to his platform, thanking them over his shoulder, his heart pounding.

Maybe it was ridiculous to think that he'd be stopped and taken home but he didn't want to risk it.

Ten minutes. Ten minutes until his train arrived and then another hour before he got to Brighton. Should he call Wilbur now? Or wait until he arrived? It was late, what if Wilbur fell asleep before Tommy arrived and didn't answer?

No, Wilbur's sleep schedule was fucked and anyway, Tommy didn't want to turn his phone back on just yet.

He eyed the small shop next to him, stomach growling at the thought of food, but before he could make a decision, his train arrived and he rushed on, suddenly wanting to be as far away from London as possible.

The train was empty as far as he could see, and there were no stops until Brighton, so he spent the journey staring out of the window, desperately trying to ignore the hopelessness that clung to his limbs, weighing him down.

Even in the train, his breath came out foggy and he curled up to try to keep as warm as possible, arms wrapped around his knees.

Eventually the train stopped and he stumbled off and then outside the station to rest against the wall, exhausted and in pain.

There was no delaying it now, he had to call Wilbur.

He turned his phone on, biting his lip as it seemed to take forever before the screen lit up. He smiled a little at his background — him and Tubbo at the beach, back to back, Tubbo considerably shorter than Tommy. He'd taken the picture as proof at the time, and he'd set it as his background picture to mock his friend, but now it was a nice reminder that his life wasn't completely shit.

Not that he'd even tell Tubbo that.

His thumb hovered over discord before moving to his actual contacts, not wanting anyone else to see that he was online.

He scrolled until his thumb landed on Wilbur, taking a moment to consider what he was going to say before deciding that had never been his strong suit and dialling straight away.

It rang once and he put it on speaker, too tired to hold it up to his ear. It rang again and Tommy closed his eyes, sighing in relief when the call connected.

"Hey Wil."

"Shouldn't children be in bed by now?" Wilbur's voice cut through the air, teasing.

Tommy wondered if he counted as a child, now he'd been kicked out.

"Haha, very funny. I was wondering —" He cut himself off when he heard a familiar voice in the background. "Are you not alone?"

"Are you kidding?" Wilbur paused, taking his silence for a no. "Tommy, we've been talking about Techno coming for weeks, you didn't seriously forget?"

Tommy swallowed down the guilt. He remembered now, it was _that_ Friday. He'd begged his parents to let him visit but they'd refused, even after Wilbur had said he'd pay for the journey.

But how could he burden Wilbur with his shit when he was finally getting a chance to hang out with his friends without an annoying teenager ruining everything.

"Of course I didn't forget." He lied. "You're right. It’s late. Goodnight Wil."

Before he could end the call, Wilbur's voice stopped him. "Hold on, why'd you call? You were wondering something?"

"It was nothing."

"Children aren't supposed to lie, Tomathy."

Tommy pulled on his hair in frustration — he was trying to not be selfish for once, why was Wilbur making it so hard?

"Is that Tommy?" He heard Techno say. "Put him on speaker."

Tommy blew out a breath. "Hey Blade."

"What are you doing awake at this late hour?" Techno's voice was louder now and Tommy couldn't help but feel very alone: he was in the same city as his closest friends and they didn't even know it.

"Just, you know, big man shit." Strangely, it was true.

There was a pause where Tommy waited for them to make fun of him and they waited for him to actually explain himself.

His mouth felt too full and he couldn't stop himself from speaking. "I'm in Brighton."

"You're joking." Wilbur's voice was tight and Tommy cursed himself for calling, for not taking a moment to think about anyone other than himself.

He sank down to the floor, one hand on his ribs. "Not really."

"You finally convinced your parents?" Tommy could tell that Wilbur already knew the answer, was practically pleading Tommy to tell him he hadn't just run away to Brighton against his parents’ wishes.

He wasn't sure whether the truth was worse. His parents probably didn't care where he was now, didn't care that he was alone in an unfamiliar city with less than thirty pounds on him and a phone with less than twenty percent battery.

He choked on a sob that he hadn't realised had been creeping up his throat, building the whole night.

He wiped his tears angrily, not wanting to cry, but his whole body hurt and his lip was split because his dad has punched him and his mum hadn't _cared_.

On the other end of the phone he could hear voices murmuring but couldn't bring himself to listen. His attention was brought back when he heard his name.

"Tommy, we're on our way to come get you but I need to know where you are." Wilbur sounded worried now but Tommy didn't have the energy to feel guilty, barely managing to speak past the sobs to give him an answer.

"I'm at the train station." He breathed deeply, trying to gain control of himself. "I'm sorry Wil."

How had it all gone so wrong?

"It's okay Toms, you're okay. We're about ten minutes away."

He tasted metal and realised his lip had started to bleed again. He tried to wipe it away with the sleeve of his hoodie but only succeeded in spreading it across his chin.

"I'm sorry." He repeated, because he'd ruined their night just because he couldn't figure out how to do this by himself, because he took and he took and he took and he never gave anything in return. "I'm _sorry_."

Worry was emanating from his phone and it just made him feel worse — where would his attention seeking end?

He sat there with his head resting on his knees until he heard a car pull up and he raised his head a little to see a familiar figure rushing out of the car. Two other people got out and Tommy distantly recognised them as Techno and Phil.

He stood up, using the wall for balance and wiped away his tears again, hovering awkwardly in front of Wilbur. He kept his gaze trained firmly on the ground, not wanting Wilbur to see anything that would just make him more worried.

Wilbur reached out to him and Tommy flinched back before he could help himself, thoughts too full of fists and blood and pain.

Techno and Phil stood next to Wilbur and Tommy couldn't help the trembling of his hands.

"Hey guys." He croaked out. "Nice night huh."

"Tommy," Phil started, concern dripping from his voice. "What's going on?"

Tommy sniffed. "Fancied a train ride, you know how it is."

Techno stepped forward and Tommy tensed but didn't flinch back, eyes tracking the hand that reached for his face. His chin was forced up and he refused to look Techno in the eyes, staring over his shoulder and ignoring Wilbur's gasp when he saw his face.

Techno hummed. "It does look like you got hit by a train."

"That's so fucking rude." Tommy breathed out, trying for a sense of normalcy.

"What happened?" Wilbur asked. "Do you want me to call your parents?"

"No!" Tommy rushed out — the last thing he wanted was to talk to them, to hear what they had to say about how he'd ruined his friends' night.

He looked between the three of them, knowing his reaction was too dramatic but not knowing how to explain it. Wilbur looked taken aback but Phil and Techno looked like they'd realised something. He wondered if they'd just realised they'd be better off without him too.

Phil and Techno exchanged a look and Tommy resisted the urge to tell them to just say what they wanted to say.

"Okay." Phil said. "Okay. Toms, come with me, we'll go sit in the car."

Tommy did as he was told because it was Phil and he trusted him. Phil was the oldest out of them all but when he put an arm around Tommy's shoulder as they crammed into the back of the car, Tommy relaxed into it, thoughts of fists and blood and pain draining away.

A couple of minutes later Techno and Wilbur returned, far angrier than they had been before. Tommy tensed when Wilbur's hands clenched around the steering wheel, but Phil squeezed him and he relaxed into his hold.

They drove in silence and Tommy bit his tongue to stop himself from saying something and making them even madder at him.

When they arrived Tommy was the last to get out of the car, walking behind the rest as they made their way into the apartment. Techno approached him with his hands out like Tommy was some kind of scared animal and Tommy scowled at the idea, crossing his arms over his chest and raising his chin.

He was fine. He was sixteen and homeless and injured but he was _fine_.

“Wilbur, do you have a first aid kit?” Techno asked.

“In the bathroom, under the sink.”

Techno nodded and gestured for Tommy to follow him, pointing at the toilet when they entered the bathroom. Tommy sat, glaring at his feet and wishing that he’d just found a hotel or something to stay at.

He heard Techno moving around and winced when his lip was wiped, moving away from the touch. “That hurts you bastard.”

Instead of telling him to suck it up like Tommy expected, Techno just muttered an apology. It made him wonder just how mad he was at Tommy if he refused to joke with him.

The thought made his chest ache and he had to ask, had to know. “How mad are you?”

Techno paused in his movement before ignoring the question and carrying on. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”

“Answer my question.”

Techno shook his head. “Answer mine first.”

“Just bruises.” Tommy breathed deeply, not sure he wanted to know anymore but not willing to back down. “How mad are you?”

“I’m pretty sure I could kill someone.” Techno said, voice tight, and Tommy slouched down.

He’d really fucked up, huh?

“I’m sorry.” He said, because he might be loud, and abrasive, and downright rude at times, but he knew when he’d messed up, knew when he needed to apologise.

Techno poked him on the forehead. “Stop being stupid. I’m not mad at you, no one is.”

“But I - I ruined your night and —”

“You didn’t ruin anything. We were just talking about how it would be better if we had the whole group together and I _know_ we’d all prefer you come to us when you have a problem.” Techno’s voice caught and Tommy looked up, startled at the sign of emotion. “Especially something like this.”

“Oh.”

A huff of laughter escaped Techno. “Yeah. Oh.”

He watched as the other stood up from where he’d been crouching on the floor and held a hand out to Tommy, movement slow and careful.

Tommy couldn’t bring himself to be angry and took the hand gratefully, ribs protesting as he used it to help himself up.

“Come on, the others are going to want to talk to you.”

Tommy swallowed harshly and gripped Techno’s hand tighter, nerves easing slightly when it was squeezed back.

He didn’t move for a second, looking at Techno. “You promise they’re not mad?”

His voice was more childish than he’d wanted it to be but Techno didn’t say anything about it, squeezing his hand again. “Not at you.”

“Right.” Who were they mad at then? “Come on then big man, can’t wait for you all day.”

He led them out of the bathroom, his tight grip on Techno’s hand betraying the confident tone to his voice.

“I’m back.” He announced, throwing himself on the chair next to Wilbur and pulling Techno down to sit on his other side. “Hope you didn’t miss me too much.”

Wilbur didn’t respond, just narrowed his eyes at Tommy, who looked past him at where Phil was sitting. It was a tight squeeze with all four of them on the chair, but pressed in between Techno and Wilbur, Tommy felt safer than he had all night.

Phil smiled at him and Tommy hated how it didn’t reach his eyes. “Tommy…”

“What?” Tommy snapped back. Why couldn’t they just pretend everything was fine? Why did they have to act all concerned and worried? Tommy was well aware that he was more trouble than he was worth and he didn’t appreciate them trying to pretend that he wasn’t. 

Phil didn’t get angry like Tommy had expected, he just kept smiling at him, sympathetic and kind in the way that only Phil was. “You don’t have to tell us anything, but I think it would help if you did. You don’t even have to tell all of us, just Techno or Wil, or me if you want. But we’d like to know, so we can help.”

He wanted to tell them, felt the need to ache through his whole body, wanted to have someone tell him that he was right, that what his dad had said was bullshit, but with that came the horrifying, pulsing fear that they’d agree with his dad and send him away.

But he owed them, didn’t he? He owed Wilbur for picking him up, Techno for cleaning his injuries, Phil for being as patient as he always was with him. He owed all three of them for putting up with him for so long.

They were his _friends_. And sometimes, in the depths of the night, he’d let himself admit that they were closer to what he imagined family was like — real family, not the farce that his had become.

And Wilbur’s apartment was warm and Techno was still holding his hand, a thumb rubbing the back of it in a comforting motion and Phil was _still_ smiling at him with more patience than Tommy knew he deserved.

“I got into a fight.” He blurted out. “Me against four others and uh, I’m pretty sure one of them had a knife although he didn’t use it. They gave up eventually because I um, stopped fighting back and I went home and dad was —”

Wilbur placed a hand over his knee, gripping it tightly and Tommy fought against the tears rising up, no longer able to look Phil in the eyes.

He exhaled shakily, staring down at his lap. “My dad was angry, ‘cause I got home late and hadn’t emptied the dishwasher. Mum was angry too and I think that made him more mad? Because she’s got this job interview tomorrow and I was stressing her out?” The words were flowing now and he didn’t think he could stop himself if he tried, consequences be damned. “So he tried to throw a plate at me but I dodged it so he just kind of punched me instead. And um, he kicked me out, so I left and I went to the train station and I came here.” He sat up, looking at Wilbur with pleading eyes. “I swear I didn’t mean to interrupt, I forgot you were having guests and —”

He was cut off when he was pulled into a hug, the top of his head resting under Wilbur’s chin.

“You can always come here Toms, even if we’re arguing or if I’m not home. You’re _always_ welcome here.” Wilbur held him closer. “They don’t deserve you.”

Somehow, Tommy knew Wilbur meant it in a good way.

Tommy pulled back, eyes wide as he met Phil’s gaze and the older man nodded in agreement.

He knew his parents were full of lies, but to have it confirmed in such a blatant way was more than he had hoped for. The small part of him that had believed his dad’s words was quiet now, squashed down and silenced by the three next to him. 

Wilbur’s hug had been his first in far too long and Tommy couldn’t stop himself from launching forward and wrapping his arms around Wilbur, this time with his chin resting on Wilbur’s shoulder, eyes clenched shut against the emotions that threatened to overwhelm him.

He could feel Techno’s hand rubbing small, comforting circles on his back, could feel Wilbur’s arms wrapped around him, Phil’s hand in his hair.

Tommy was warm, and he was safe, and he was surrounded by people that cared for him and for now, that was enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao creating an alt account on ao3 for mcyt? couldn't be me. unless.
> 
> Let me know if you liked it :) I'm thinking of adding another chapter from the others' POV? And then maybe a chapter on the events after this one - getting stuff from Tommy's house, protective older bros etc, so subscribe if you want to be notified about those.
> 
> Haha I've been trying to stop myself from writing for this fandom for weeks and yet here we are.
> 
> I'm thinking of creating a separate Tumblr as well so I won't link my normal one here like I usually would. Just know that I'm accepting prompts, but just won't write them if I get bad vibes from them :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wilbur doesn't understand much. Tommy makes plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: All from the last chapter, nothing graphic and nothing more extreme than the vibe that I've already set with this fic, I think.
> 
> Enjoy :)

When Wilbur’s phone rang he felt uneasy but put it down to the bad Chinese he and Techno had shared for lunch. 

The feeling worsened when Tommy asked if there was anyone with him, as if they hadn’t been shouting at each other in excitement about Techno coming that very morning. He knew something was wrong for sure when Tommy tried to hang up on him — he’d honestly been expecting a call hours before but had decided Tommy had probably just gotten caught up in something.

He waved Techno over, hoping that the other would be able to distract Tommy from whatever was bothering him, even if they weren’t able to actually meet up.

He wondered if maybe they should make a random trip to London tomorrow to give Techno the typical tourist experience. If they ran into a blond teenager along the way, then it would just have to be a lucky coincidence.

Decision made, Wilbur tuned back into the conversation, waving at Phil as the man returned from the bathroom.

...big man shit.”

Wilbur hid his snort in his hand, smiling at the familiar humour.

“I’m in Brighton.”

What the fuck.

“You’re joking.” Wilbur looked at Phil to see if he’d heard and was met with a face that looked just as shocked as he felt. Techno was frowning at the phone.

“Not really.”

Wilbur took a deep breath. “You finally convinced your parents?”

No answer. He looked up to see Phil already putting on his shoes, Techno walking over with Wilbur’s in hand. 

He froze when he heard a sob through the speaker, looking at the phone with wide eyes. Something was wrong.

He’d seen Tommy cry before — frustrated tears when he couldn’t get something to work, or when he got too angry at something, but nothing ever like the heart wrenching sobs that came through the speaker.

“Hurry up Wilbur.” Techno growled at him and Wilbur suddenly realised he’d stopped moving and hurried to put his other shoe on, grabbing his car keys from next to the front door.

“Let’s go.” He gave Techno his phone to hold so he could focus on driving.

He asked Tommy where he was, thoughts of dark alleys and shady figures making his voice tremble.

The train station. 

Right, that made sense. How else would Tommy have gotten all the way to Brighton on his own? Unless he hitchhiked and just got them to drop him off at the train station — fuck, he and Tommy were going to be talking about the stress he was putting on Wilbur’s heart.

Tommy apologised then, like he could hear Wilbur’s thoughts, and all notions of telling Tommy off were dismissed the second he heard the broken edge to his voice.

“It’s okay Toms, you’re okay. We’re about ten minutes away.”

He drove faster, ignoring the speed limits and how not a single one of them had their seatbelts on.

Whoever had made Tommy cry like that, had made Tommy’s voice shake as he apologised, they were going to pay for their mistake.

Those ten minutes felt like years and when Wilbur finally, finally saw the figure sitting against the wall of the train station, he parked in what was probably illegal in at least three different ways.

He rushed out the car, not bothering to shut the door behind him and ran up to Tommy who stumbled up from the ground. He opened his arms, because Tommy looked like he could use a hug and Wilbur wouldn’t mind one either — something to confirm that Tommy was okay, that he was safe. Before he could pull him into his arms, Tommy flinched away and Wilbur froze for the second time that night, stepping back.

Wilbur distantly recognised that Techno and Phil were talking to Tommy, watched as Tommy’s injuries were exposed to the streetlights and gasped because someone had hurt Tommy, someone had dared to lay a finger on someone he considered family.

He took a moment to settle the rage burning in his chest before speaking. “What happened? Do you want me to call your parents?” 

"No!" Fear passed across Tommy's face, somehow clear as day under the streetlights and yet not at all enlightening to Wilbur.

He didn't understand. Why didn't Tommy want him to call his parents? Was he _that_ worried about the trouble he'd get into for sneaking out?

He looked at Techno as Tommy and Phil walked to the car, knowing that he probably looked stupid with his eyes wide open but too confused to care. Techno was shaking, he realised, yet another piece to the mismatched puzzle he was gathering.

It was anger, he knew, as he saw Techno walk up to the wall and hold his tightly clenched fists against it, not punching, but seemingly on the edge of being overcome with anger.

"Techno, I don't understand." Wilbur was half pleading, just wanting to know what was going on so he could help Tommy.

"Put two and two together Wilbur." Techno's voice was quiet, controlled. "You saw the look on his face when you mentioned his parents. Between that and the bruises…"

Wilbur shook his head. “That doesn’t make sense. I’ve met his dad, I mean - why would he - it’s _Tommy_.”

Letting out a shaky breath, Wilbur looked at Techno like he could tell him the answers, forgetting in the moment that he was older. 

“Some people are scum Wil, there’s nothing more to it.” Techno started walking back to the car and Wilbur followed after him, each step fuelling the anger that rode through his veins.

He got into the driver’s seat and looked into the rearview mirror, seeing Tommy slouched against Phil, blood across his face and eyes red from crying. His hands clenched around the steering wheel and he forced himself to focus on getting home so they could sort out the next step, whatever that was.

Still, a lone thought nudged him relentlessly: why hadn’t he noticed?

He was the only one out of the three that had ever spoken to Tommy’s parents — hell, he’d met Tommy’s dad, he’d shaken his hand that day, ridiculously grateful that Tommy had been allowed to meet up with him and Phil. Had he missed any signs? Any bruises peeking out underneath Tommy’s clothes?

Tommy had been happy that day, hadn’t he? Or had he just been happy to have a whole day away from his parents?

They arrived at his apartment and Wilbur was the first to get out of the car, knowing that he needed to unlock the door so the others could get in. He told Techno where the first aid kit was before falling into the couch the moment Tommy was out of sight, head in his hands.

Techno had said that some people were scum, but Wilbur thought there was more to it. Couldn’t he have prevented this whole thing by actually paying attention to Tommy and noticing how bad things were for him? God, it was a wonder Tommy didn’t hate him — Wilbur deserved it, he knew he did.

He felt an arm around his shoulders and looked at where Phil had sat next to him.

“Stop it.” Phil whispered. “Stop blaming yourself.”

Wilbur ran his hands through his hair, fingers shaking. “How can I Phil? If I had just - just been a better friend, then Tommy wouldn’t be in my bathroom having Techno look after his injuries!”

Phil sighed. “There’s no point thinking about what we should have done. Tommy’s here now, and we know not to let him return to them, we need to do what we can, not spend all our time beating ourselves up. That’s not what’s going to help Tommy.”

“Phil you can’t blame yourself too, I mean, you never even met his dad, there was nothing you could have done —”

“I’m the oldest by a large margin Wilbur, even if I never met Tommy’s parents, there were things I should have been able to see.” He brought his free hand to rub his eyes. “Get ready, I think they’re coming.”

They’d talked then, and Tommy had explained, lower lip trembling the whole time, and Wilbur hadn’t been able to resist hugging him anymore, beyond relieved when Tommy sank into it.

“You can always come here Toms, even if we’re arguing or if I’m not home. You’re always welcome here.” Wilbur pulled him tighter against his chest, wishing he could protect him against everything cruel the world had to offer. “They don’t deserve you.”

There was so much more he wanted to say, that needed to be said, at some point, but when Tommy pulled away for a second, only to throw himself back into the hug, Wilbur knew it could wait.

And now he was sat on the couch, Tommy fast asleep in his arms, looking like the child he was supposed to be if not for the darkening bruise around his eye and the cut on his lip.

He had a feeling that Tommy wasn't telling them everything but for now he was satisfied that they had taken a step in the right direction, that Tommy was trusting them with as much as he had.

He watched in silence as Techno slipped Tommy’s shoes off and placed them next to the couch, standing up and gesturing for Wilbur to hand him over. Wilbur was reluctant to do so, Tommy’s sobs still echoing in his mind, but knew that he didn’t have the strength to carry him to a bed himself. 

Techno took him and Wilbur hated how small Tommy looked, he’d never seen the sixteen year old like it — usually Tommy was as loud as he could be, his personality taking up more space in the room than others sometimes accepted. But that was _Tommy_ and Wilbur had never wanted him to be any other way.

They’d let him sleep for now and when he woke in the morning they’d figure it out — together.

  


When Tommy woke up, it was with his breath caught in his throat, pulse racing with fear. He had fallen asleep surrounded by others but he was alone now, in an unfamiliar room. 

He tried to push back the feeling and swung his legs over the bed, groaning when the action caused an ache in his stomach. He stood slowly, one hand on his ribs and the other out for balance, scowling when he caught his own gaze in a mirror and noticed the black ring around his right eye.

How was he supposed to stream when it looked like he'd been beaten up?

Scratch that — how was he supposed to stream when he didn't have his setup? Fuck, he was going to have to go home and beg his parents to let him stay. Or at least to grab some of his stuff. What had he been thinking, running out without taking anything? God, sometimes he was so fucking stupid.

He rubbed his hand across his face and sighed. He'd figure it out. He would.

Wilbur had been kind enough to give him a place to stay for the night, but Tommy had to find somewhere more permanent before Wilbur's generosity ran out.

He walked over to the door, hesitating in opening it before telling himself to get a grip and swinging it open. Peeking his head out the door he saw Wilbur, Phil and Techno in the kitchen. Techno caught his eyes and raised an eyebrow at him making Tommy roll his eyes in response and walk over to them.

"Morning." He said. "Have you seen my phone?"

Wilbur grinned. "Typical teenagers, attached to their technology, giving no thought to their seniors."

"I put it on charge a while ago." Phil said, pointing to the counter where Tommy spotted his phone. "It should be fully charged by now."

"Thanks Phil, I hate you Wil."

Phil nodded and Wilbur grinned at him again.

"Wilbur you're a streamer." Techno said, hands wrapped around his coffee. "The only reason you can afford this apartment is because of technology."

Tommy grabbed his phone, laughing as Wilbur stuck his tongue out at Techno. Unlocking it, he saw he had a few missed messages, all from Tubbo asking why they hadn't called last night.

He sent a quick message back to say something came up and then went to his message thread with his mum, hoping that she'd be at least slightly more open to him going to collect his stuff.

He frowned when he saw the last message he had sent, an apology for sending the money for the electricity a few hours later than he had been supposed to. It had been an honest mistake but she'd been pissed, sending him angry messages in all caps.

"Tommy?"

Tommy sighed, thumbs hovering over the letters as he tried to think of something that would convince her to let him in the house. "Yes Wilbur?"

"What are you doing?"

He looked at Wilbur, face deadpan. "Hacking the Japanese government. What does it look like I'm doing?"

“You’re not Tubbo.” Wilbur said, crossing his arms.

“No shit.” Tommy laughed loud but doubled over when it sent a sharp pain through his stomach. “Fuck.”

In between one blink and the next, Techno moved across the kitchen to help him stand, holding up the majority of his weight. 

“You said you weren’t hurt anywhere else.” Techno accused, worry sharpening his voice. “You said you just had bruises left.”

Catching his breath, Tommy tried and failed to push Techno away. “Do I look like a fucking doctor?”

“Over here.” Phil said. “Let him sit down.”

Techno practically pushed him into the seat, crouching down in front of him and trying to lift his t-shirt. 

Tommy slapped his hands away. “Oi, hands off.”

He sat back, holding his t-shirt down protectively and watching Techno’s hands carefully for any more attempts. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the other, but they were in front of Phil and Wil, who hadn’t had to deal with his injuries yet, and he didn’t want to needlessly worry them more than he already had. He looked in between Wilbur and Phil, noticing how Wilbur looked startled again and then looked back at Techno, batting away yet another attempt to lift his shirt.

“If you’d told me you were more hurt in the first place then this wouldn’t be a problem.” Techno growled, but relented, sitting back on his feet.

He looked angry.

“Maybe I don’t want you to look at them.”

“Tommy,” Wilbur sighed, “Techno’s the best out of us with this sort of thing.”

His nose scrunched up. “I’m fine.”

Phil finally spoke up, approaching him and Techno. “All Techno wants to do is check your stomach for any injuries that we can help with, or to see if you need to go to the hospital. We just want you to not be in pain.”

“What he said.” Techno muttered.

They were making it into way more of a big deal than Tommy thought it had any right to be, so in one quick movement, he took his shirt off, ignoring the pain that came with it in favour of throwing his shirt in Techno’s face and grinning.

“Hah.” He resisted the urge to hide his front with his arms. “I win.”

He looked to Wilbur for back up and frowned when he saw tears in the other’s eyes, a sharp contrast to the amusement he’d been expecting to see. Wilbur’s gaze was firmly trained on his chest so Tommy looked down himself, making a small noise of understanding when he saw what had captured Wilbur’s attention.

His whole left side was a mess of red and black and he rested his hand against it gingerly, testing the pain and pulling back immediately when he figured out that, yes, it fucking hurt when you poked it.

“Well,” Tommy smiled, feeling somewhat smug, “I wasn’t wrong.”

Phil reached forward, taking his hand in his as if in an effort to stop him from poking his side again. “Tommy…”

Tommy rolled his eyes. “Chill out guys. I am a big man, _the alpha male_ , I can deal with a little bit of pain.”

“That’s not the point!” Wilbur exclaimed, jaw clenching. “The point is you shouldn’t have to.”

Techno sent Wilbur a look and Tommy had known them long enough to know it was a silent warning to back the hell down. He turned to Tommy next and Tommy was surprised to see none of the look lingering, instead replaced with a much kinder, softer expression that Tommy hadn’t seen the other use before.

As startled as he was by the combination of Wilbur’s words and Techno’s strangeness, he forgot to argue when Techno told him to take a deep breath, wincing when it hurt.

A few quiet instructions later, Tommy was given his shirt back and told to cover up. 

“What do you say Doctor Blade?” Tommy asked, poking Techno in the middle of his forehead and laughing a little as he went cross eyed trying to look at it. “Am I going to make it to the end of the day?”

Techno shook his head and moved away to glare at Tommy’s finger. “As far as I can tell your rib isn’t broken, just bruised, but I don’t know for certain without an x-ray. It doesn’t seem to have punctured anything important, but,” Techno shrugged, “I’m not a professional, you could be bleeding out for all I know.”

Tommy frowned. “But there’s no blood.”

“You can bleed out internally.”

“That’s stupid. You’re stupid.”

Phil interrupted before they could get carried away. “I’m sure you did a wonderful job Techno, thank you. Is there anything we can do for it?”

Wilbur spoke before Techno could, staring at his phone. “Rest, ice and drugs.”

“Why is everyone here apart from me a doctor?”

Rolling his eyes, Wilbur shook his phone in Tommy’s direction. “It’s called Google, stupid. Hey, Techno, are you sure he didn’t get any brain trauma?”

“No more than he already had.”

“I can’t believe you guys.” Tommy grumbled. 

Phil laughed. “It’s okay Tommy, I’m on your side.”

Wilbur gasped suddenly and Tommy brought a hand to his chest, pretending the noise had jumped him way more than it had. “What the fuck Wilbur?”

“We can have a movie night! Day, whatever.” Wilbur clasped his hands together. “We’re going to have so much fun!”

“I can’t actually.” Tommy said, voice full of false cheer. “I’ve got stuff to do.”

Wilbur visibly deflated and Tommy forced the guilt away, promising himself that he’d feel it later. “Oh, right.”

“Stop listening to every word the child says Wilbur.” Techno said, head half inside the fridge. “He’s bullshitting you.”

“Oh my God.” Tommy groaned. “Are you _still_ bitter that I told you the truth about having bruises?”

Techno’s head poked out of the top of the fridge to glare at him. “A bruised rib is very different from a normal bruise. Which is why you should be _resting_ instead of arguing with your seniors.”

“I told you.” He shifted uncomfortably. “I’ve got stuff to do.”

Techno shut the fridge and stared at him, silent.

“Important stuff.” Tommy clarified. “Needs to be done as soon as possible.”

“Maybe we can help?” Phil offered. “You _are_ supposed to be resting.”

Standing up, Tommy shook his head. “You wouldn’t want to.”

He was going to have to go all the way back to London, confront his parents, figure out how to cancel the access that his dad had to his account before it was emptied and somehow pick out a bag of stuff that was the most important and _then_ he still had to sort out college.

It had been nice to come visit Wilbur, and even nicer to be surprised with Phil and Techno, but he couldn’t expect them to keep picking up his slack. He had to act like an adult now, and that meant not ignoring his responsibilities and actually facing his problems instead of running away like a child.

“Come on, you might be surprised.” Phil smiled.

“I’ve got to go to London.” Tommy said, and finished there, because he wasn’t an idiot and he knew that they’d be against him returning home alone.

“I think you mean _we’ve_ got to go to London.” Wilbur said, throwing an arm over his shoulder.

Ducking underneath the arm, Tommy sighed. “You’re busy.”

No matter how much easier it would be if he had his friends by his side, he didn’t have that luxury, not anymore: he had to be independent.

“I see how it is.” Wilbur sniffed dramatically, leaning on Techno. “You’re leaving me.”

Techno stepped away and Wilbur fell half to the floor before catching himself on the counter, the sound of Phil’s laughter echoing around the kitchen.

Tommy was going to miss them. He was going to miss playing games with them and teasing Wilbur and mocking Techno and asking Phil for advice.

He didn’t know when he’d next be able to talk to them, never mind see them. He was running low on money, and unless he was able to get his card, his trip to London would cost far more than it was worth. There was no way he’d be able to bring his computer with him and his phone might be fully charged for now, but there was only so long until it ran out again and he was left alone, completely isolated.

Tommy had never dealt well with being alone.

He slipped out of the kitchen, grabbing his shoes from where they laid next to the couch and pulling them on. After checking his pockets still had the change in it from the day before, Tommy’s hand was halfway to the front door when Wilbur’s voice made him freeze.

“I thought we’d get some McDonalds before we get on the motorway. I’m starving and Techno used the last of the eggs to ruin my pans.”

Techno pushed Wilbur from behind. “It’s not my fault you had shit pans.”

“No but it _is_ your fault that I now have zero pans.”

Techno shrugged unapologetically. “It’s how the old saying goes: ‘fake friends will use your shitty pans, real friends will force you into buying better ones’.”

“That’s one of my favourite sayings.” Phil said, holding out a hoodie to Tommy. “Put this on, it’s supposed to get cold today.”

Tommy took it and put it on without a word, mind racing to come up with an explanation for what the hell was happening. 

Before he knew it he was being ushered out of the door and out of the apartment; he came back to himself just in time to claim the front seat, sticking his tongue out at Techno who had already started complaining about being cramped in the back.

“Shut up. I’m taller than you anyway.” Tommy said from his seat in the front.

Techno raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? Get out and prove it.”

Tommy narrowed his eyes, unsure if it was just a trick to steal his seat, but got out of the car anyway, confident that he really was taller than the other. Wilbur might have both of them beat, but Tommy _knew_ he was taller than Techno. He was proven right moments later when Wilbur carefully looked between them, grinning as he declared Tommy the winner.

“Sorry Techno, I guess you’re just no match for a sixteen year old.” Wilbur said, snickering.

Techno slunk into the back of the car next to Phil. “I can’t believe I came to England just to be bullied. This really is the worst timeline.”

“I don’t know.” Tommy hummed, getting back in the car. “It could be worse.”

“Yeah,” Wilbur agreed, sharing a grin with Tommy, “You could be as short as Phil.”

Phil crossed his arms. “I’m average height, you lot are just giants.”

Tommy buckled his seat belt in, gasping when it pressed into his ribs and holding it away from him with his hands, previous joy diminishing at the pain. 

What the hell was he doing, letting Wilbur drive him to London? It was almost a two hour drive, he couldn’t force Wilbur to drive all the way just to ditch him — because he was going to have to ditch them. He didn’t want his friends to see his parents, to see just how low Tommy could go.

“You alright Toms?” Wilbur asked from beside him, staring at where Tommy was holding the seat belt.

“Fine.” Tommy said. “Listen, I was thinking, you can just drop me off at the train station and then get on with your day. I’ve already taken up so much of your time and —”

Wilbur shook his head. “No can do Tomathy.”

“Wilbur, you’re being unreasonable.” Tommy said in his best serious voice, frowning when Wilbur laughed at him and batting away the hand that reached out to pinch his cheek.

“Oh look, we’re at the McDonalds. Looks like we’ll have to finish this conversation later.” Wilbur grinned.

Techno groaned. “Look how long the line for the drive through is.”

“I’ll go in.” Tommy offered, grateful for the chance to breathe and collect his thoughts without being stared at.

He made a note of what they wanted on his phone and took Phil’s card and went in, using the machine to place the order and leaning against the wall as he waited. 

Wilbur was being stubborn in that annoying way of his where he absolutely refused to change his mind and Tommy hated it. By the looks of it, he wouldn’t be able to get out of being driven to London — unless he escaped now, but they were parked pretty close to the entrance and he still had Phil’s card on him.

Suddenly, an idea formed in his mind, one of his best ones yet.

None of them had ever been to his house before, he doubted they would recognise it if he gave them directions. He could say he was visiting a friend to pick up some stuff he’d left behind and that his friend’s parents didn’t like strangers, so they couldn’t come in. He could knock, convince whoever was home to let him grab his stuff and leave again before they noticed something was wrong.

It was perfect.

  


“I can’t tell what he’s thinking.” Phil muttered when the door shut behind Tommy. “Why does he want to go back to London?”

Humming, Techno stretched his arms above his head. “Whatever it is, it seems important to him.”

“And maybe while he’s doing that, we can pay some people a visit.” Wilbur twisted in his seat, nodding at Techno.

"No, listen to me, both of you." Phil leaned forward in his seat, mouth set in a grim line. "You can't hurt them."

Wilbur snarled. "Why the fuck not Phil? Have you _seen_ Tommy? They deserve death for what they did."

Techno nodded in agreement, fists clenched by his sides, but Phil shook his head. "I know, trust me, I'm just as angry as you, but the important thing right now is what's best for Tommy and exposing him to more violence isn't it. Besides, the last thing we want to do is give them a reason to have us arrested."

Cursing, Wilbur glared out of the window, hating that Phil was making sense. "It's not fair."

"No," Phil agreed, "It's not."

They changed the subject when they saw Tommy leave the McDonalds, bags of food in one hand, waving Phil’s credit card about wildly with the other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By my calculations, I am now owed at least three first born children, a right kidney and some silverware?
> 
> Jk, jk. Thank you all for your lovely comments! If I did what I promised myself I'd do, I should have responded to each of them before posting this chapter. They were such an unexpected, warm welcome into the fandom and I'll be eternally grateful ❤
> 
> There's just one chapter left and then I'm officially considering this fic complete. It's already written, I just need to proof read it, so it should be out within the next few hours.
> 
> Thank you again for the response to the first chapter! It's been a long time since I've had such a nice welcome into a fandom!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They arrive at Tommy's house - needless to say, all does not go to plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Same as the last few - nothing graphic, but this fic is about child abuse, so please keep that in mind before you read this chapter.

They spent the first half of the journey listening to the radio until Tommy had the brilliant idea of connecting his phone to Wilbur’s car and putting on Wilbur’s songs at full volume. Tommy and Techno sang along while Phil laughed and Wilbur pretended that he couldn’t hear them. Tommy felt happy then, blissfully ignoring where they were going and focusing on how Wilbur groaned when they finally convinced Phil to join in with the singing.

It wasn’t long before Wilbur started to need directions to where they were going, so Tommy pulled them up on his phone, enjoying telling Wilbur the turn he needed to make at the last possible second. Soon enough, they pulled up outside a familiar house and Tommy swallowed hard when he saw his dad’s car in front of the house.

Right, his mum had an interview, so his dad was going to stay home to look after the dog instead of going into work like he normally would.

“This is my friend’s house.” Tommy said with fake confidence. “I need to grab some of my stuff that I left here.”

Techno yawned, stretching his arms above his head. “I’ll go in and help you.”

Shaking his head, Tommy tried for an apologetic grin. “Sorry, it looks like his parents are home and they don’t like strangers. I’d be surprised if they let me in.”

“Well I need to get out to stretch my legs anyway.”

Tommy narrowed his eyes. “Fine, just stay next to the car.”

“Which friend did you say this was?” Phil asked.

Tommy’s mind went completely blank. “Uh, Tim.”

Phil hummed, glancing at Techno, but thankfully didn’t ask anything else, so Tommy got out the car, glaring at Techno as he did the same to make sure he stayed where he said he would. Techno rolled his eyes and made a shooing motion with his hands and Tommy felt his heart clench in fear that the others would just leave when he got far enough away.

No. They wouldn’t — at least not without an explanation. They weren’t like that.

He rolled his shoulders back and took a final deep breath before ringing the doorbell with a shaking finger. He could only hope that Wilbur was either not paying attention or too far away to see who answered the door.

His breath stopped momentarily when he heard the door being unlocked and he had to force himself to keep breathing, digging his fingernails into his palms. The door opened and he was greeted with his dad’s face, polite smile falling away when he saw who had rung the doorbell.

Tommy hurried to speak before his dad could start shouting and alert the others. “I’m here with my friends. I just want to get some of my stuff.”

His dad sneered. “I thought I told you to get out? You’ve brought us enough trouble.”

“I know, I’m sorry.” Tommy’s voice trembled. “But I just need to get —”

“You don’t own anything in this house.” His dad stepped forward, fist rising but paused when he looked over Tommy’s shoulder and presumably saw Techno. He lowered his voice. “If anything, you owe us more for what you’ve put us through.”

The venom in his voice made Tommy take a small step back, slouching. “Please, I just need to grab my things and you’ll never see me again, I promise, I’ll —”

“Is there a problem here?” Techno said from behind him, voice cold and emotionless, making Tommy jump. He hadn’t even heard him approach, too focused on his dad.

“Go back to the car Techno.” Tommy muttered, pushing at him, but Techno didn’t budge, staring at Tommy’s dad with more contained hatred than Tommy had ever seen in a person.

Tommy whirled around as his dad spoke. “This is between me and my son, stay out of our business.”

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. _Fuck_. This was not going to plan.

He pushed Techno again, panic building when the other still didn’t move. 

“No.” Techno growled. “I don’t think I will.”

Tommy heard the car door open and turned around again, groaning when he saw Phil and Wilbur leaving the car. 

“Get back in the car.” Tommy said, but his voice was weak, lacking it’s usual commanding tone. “You too Techno, get in the car.”

Phil ignored him. “Techno, what’s going on?”

“Tommy’s _father_ ,” Techno practically spat out the word, grimacing as though it caused a foul taste in his mouth, “looked like he wanted to say a few things. I wanted to hear them.”

“What?” Wilbur said, before looking at Tommy’s dad and throwing his hands up in the air. “Fucking hell Tommy, why would you —”

Phil whispered something to him that Tommy couldn’t hear and Wilbur stopped, glaring at the sky. Techno looked back at them, taking his eyes off of Tommy’s dad and tilting his head in question. 

A hand pulled on Tommy’s shoulder and he stumbled back, gasping as the movement sent pain across his side and making Techno’s head whip back around.

“Let him go.” Techno snarled, fists clenched by his side as Wilbur and Phil ran up to the three of them. “You let him go right now or I’ll swear you’ll regret it.”

“Stop interfering, this is between family.” Tommy felt the hand tighten on his shoulder and thought he might throw up. “Just because Tom thought he could tell his friends some lies and they’d come running to save him, it doesn’t mean you have any kind of authority here. This is my house and my son and you’d do damned well to remember that.”

“Shut up!” Phil shouted, making Tommy’s eyes widen — he’d never heard the mild tempered man’s voice ever rise above normal talking level, never mind filled with such anger. “Just shut up. Tommy is more our family than he’ll ever be yours, no matter how many mind games you play. Now you _will_ take your hand off of him, or you’ll find that someone _interfering_ should be the least of your worries.”

Tommy didn’t get speechless very often: he had something to say about everything, but in that moment he was glad that no one was looking to him for a response, because he wasn’t sure he’d be able to get a single word out, emotions clogging his chest and throat and making it hard to breathe.

_Fucking hell,_ Tommy thought, _Phil is the coolest out of all of us._

His dad seemed to disagree. “I don’t know who you think you are, but unless you’d like me to call the police —”

Wilbur cut him off. “I wouldn’t mind calling the police myself, if you’d like. I’m sure they’d be interested to hear what we all have to say, don’t you think?”

Tommy didn’t see his dad’s response to the words, but he did feel the grip on his shoulder significantly lessen, and in one motion he shrugged it off completely, rushing to stand next to Techno. Techno put an arm around his shoulders and Tommy took careful note of how he didn’t feel at all restricted but safe, like the action was to comfort him, not control him.

“Tommy,” Tehcno said, “You had a reason for coming here. What was it?”

“I need to grab my stuff.” Tommy answered, avoiding his dad’s glare.

His dad spoke before Techno could. “I told you, you’re not welcome in this house.”

Empowered by the arm around him, Tommy pushed past the automatic fear that came with talking back. “It’s _my_ stuff!”

“No it’s not.” His dad smirked, looking smug. “It’s in my house, you don’t pay the bills, you don’t get to claim the stuff inside it.”

Tommy felt his heart rate increase in anger — maybe if it were true his dad would have something to stand on, but it _wasn’t_ true. “That’s bullshit! Unless you’d prefer to live in the dark? Or have no internet access? I’ve already paid you for the stuff in my room, it’s _mine_.”

“What?” Wilbur’s voice was calm in the way that Tommy knew meant he was seconds away from exploding. “You’ve been paying the bills Tommy?”

Tommy winced. He really hadn’t meant to reveal that, but he couldn’t stand hearing the outright lie that his dad had said, not when he had the evidence to prove him wrong. “Only a couple of them.”

Wilbur took a deep breath. “Here’s what’s going to happen: Techno, Tommy, you two go up to Tommy’s room and grab whatever you need, with however many trips you need. The boot is empty and we can always carry stuff on our laps. Phil and I will stay here and chat for a little longer.”

“Hey —” His dad started, chest puffing out.

Wilbur pointed a finger in his face, clearly furious. “No, you don’t get to speak, not unless you’d like to explain to the police why you’ve been forcing your sixteen year old son to pay your bills for you when you’re perfectly capable of doing so yourself.”

Tommy had a clear view of the way his dad’s face paled then and didn’t even try to squash the satisfaction that coursed through him.

Techno nodded and removed his arm from around Tommy’s shoulders, only to grab his hand instead, squeezing it reassuringly. Tommy watched with awe as he pretty much shoved his dad out of the way — someone that Tommy had thought to be immovable, unshakable and yet he stumbled to the side just like anyone else would.

Once inside the house, Techno let Tommy take the lead to his bedroom, and when the door shut behind them, didn’t wait a second before gathering Tommy into his arms.

A Techno hug was different, Tommy thought; he had wondered before if his hugs would be more like Phil’s, safe and comforting, or like Wilbur’s, warm and calming, but Techno’s hugs were a strange mix of both with something more. 

As arms wrapped around him he felt like nothing in the world could touch him, because Techno wouldn’t let it — he felt all his pent up anger simmer away. But he also felt strong, like he could do anything, face anything; Techno hugged him harder than Wilbur or Phil would and Tommy found that he didn’t mind it, even when it put extra pressure on his ribs.

“I’m never letting you out of my sight again.” Techno muttered into his hair.

At that moment Tommy was more than okay with that — not that he was going to let Techno know. “You seem to have forgotten that you are a horrible American, who is not welcome in the Queen’s land for an extended period of time.”

“About that…”

Tommy pulled out of the hug, fixing Techno with his best serious look, even if the grin on his face ruined it. “Techno, explain right now.”

“I was going to tell you all together.” Techno said, smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “But I’m moving to England. I’m here to find a place to stay and then all my stuff is being shipped over.”

“But don’t you need, like, a visa or some shit.” Tommy asked, although he was practically jumping up and down, unable to contain his excitement.

Techno nodded. “It’s all sorted.”

Tommy laughed and threw himself at Techno again, hugging him tight — he could barely believe it, Techno was moving to England! After a few seconds he retreated again, arms by his side, but the grin was still fixed on his face and he wasn’t sure anything could take it away.

“Just to be clear, I am _not_ excited about being forced to see your face more often. I am simply happy that you are finally seeing some sense and renouncing your American ways.” 

Techno nodded. “Of course.”

Tommy nodded back at him and then turned around as if to hide his large grin, despite Techno having already seen it. “Come on then old man, help me pack some shit up.”

“That makes no sense, I am literally the second youngest out of all of us.”

“Doesn’t make you young.” Tommy replied cheerfully, searching for his suitcase and making a noise of satisfaction when he found it. “Help me pull this down?”

Walking over, Techno looked up at where the suitcase was on top of his wardrobe before pulling it down easily without Tommy’s help. “There. What are we taking?”

Tommy hummed, spinning in a slow circle to take in his room. His whole life was in this room — how was he supposed to select just a few things from it?

“I haven’t seen Wilbur’s boot before, how big is it?”

Techno looked up to the ceiling as he tried to remember. “I could fit my suitcase in it — it’s about the same size as yours — and it looked like there would still be room for a few other things, maybe your computer stuff?”

“You think it would all fit?” Tommy had resigned himself to losing his computer and everything that had been saved on there.

“From what I remember.”

Tommy grinned. “Brilliant. Help me unplug everything and then you can take it all down to the car while I pack the suitcase.”

Techno grumbled about being used but did so, easily carrying all of his computer parts in one trip, and when he left the room Tommy hurried to throw his favourite clothes into the suitcase, grateful that he’d done his washing recently.

He opened his wardrobe and pulled out the bottom boxes, knowing that they were the ones with any important documents or sentimental stuff in. Emptying them into the suitcase, he tilted his head when he saw it was still only half full, and grabbed the stuff he needed for college as well as a few more clothes until it was full and he had to sit on it to zip it shut.

“All done?” Techno said, coming back into the room.

“I think so.” Tommy replied, tilting his head before springing into motion again. “Shit, I can’t believe I almost forgot.”

Running over to where he’d hid his card, he carefully extracted it from its hiding place and held it up like a trophy. “Got it!”

He tensed when he heard a familiar engine outside and peeked out of his window, gulping when he saw his mum getting out of her car, frown on her face.

“What is it?” Techno asked from his place by the doorway.

Tommy didn’t feel like lying, not when Techno would be finding out soon enough anyway. “My mum’s home.”

“Good.”

He gave Techno his best ‘what the fuck’ face. “Uh, not really, no.”

“I’d like to talk to her.” Techno said, a twisted grin forming on his face.

“I’m not sure that’s the best idea.” Tommy wrinkled his nose. “In fact, that sounds like a terrible idea. Let’s sneak out the back.”

“No thank you.” 

Tommy tugged on Techno’s sleeve when he opened the door. “It wasn’t really a suggestion.”

“That’s a shame.” Techno picked up Tommy’s suitcase with one hand and started walking through the door, before turning back to face Tommy, brows furrowed. “You can, if you want. You don’t have to watch.”

Sighing, Tommy bit his lip — he was morbidly curious about how the exchange would go and a part of him was eager to see what Techno wanted to say. “Fine, let’s go.”

Techno stared at him for a moment longer and Tommy tried to look as confident as possible, raising his chin and standing straight, slouching down again when Techno turned back around to continue walking out the door and down the stairs.

Tommy took one final look at his room, now far more empty than it had been before, but still definitely _his_ room. He hated that he had to leave anything behind, knew that anything of value would be sold and anything that wasn’t thrown anyway. Shaking his head, there was nothing he could do anyway, he followed Techno out the room.

The sound the suitcase made as it bumped down the stairs echoed in Tommy’s ears — he could hear voices coming from the living room and wasn’t sure whether he wanted Techno to hurry up or take his time.

Before long, they were downstairs and Techno left his suitcase next to the doorway of the living room, walking in and standing next to where Wilbur and Phil were facing Tommy’s parents. Tommy followed hesitantly, standing behind Wilbur and Phil, half hidden by their heights.

“Tom, sweetie, come here.” His mum’s voice made him flinch back, grabbing Wilbur’s shirt and trying to pretend that they couldn’t see him. 

He’d come so far, he wasn’t about to quit now. His mum hadn’t cared yesterday, he refused to believe she’d had a change of heart.

But maybe she had?

Techno crossed his arms. “Tommy isn’t staying here.”

“You can’t kidnap him.” His mum said, but her voice lacked the worry Tommy had half been hoping she’d feel.

His dad scoffed. “Let him go, we’ll be better off without him.”

“Steve!” His mum hissed. “You know we need him to stay.”

Realisation coursed through Tommy like a tornado, leaving him breathless — he should have known better than to hope that his mum cared about more than the money that he brought to the house.

“I’ve worked it out, we’ll be fine. It’s worth it if we don’t have to deal with the little shit anymore.”

Fuck, he thought he’d cut off all feelings to his parents, so why did his dad’s words hurt so much? Why was he fighting off tears?

“That’s enough.” Wilbur said, voice sharp and angry. “We’re leaving.”

Phil was the first to turn around, slipping his arm behind Tommy’s waist to support him and lead him out the room. Wilbur and Techno followed them shortly after whispering something at Tommy’s parents that he didn’t hear, Techno picking up Tommy’s suitcase on his way passed it.

“I feel sorry for you.” His dad called out, hate dripping from his words. “For having to deal with him now. It won’t be too long before you get sick of him too.”

“That’s it.” Techno said, dropping the suitcase.

Phil reached his free hand out. “Techno, no.”

“No, let him.” Wilbur said, fists clenched. “Or I’ll do it myself.”

Tommy looked between the three of them, eyes wide and confused, watching as Techno walked back into the living room and mouth dropping when he heard a loud crack come from the room, followed by something heavy falling to the floor. Techno came out a few seconds later, looking much calmer than when he had gone in, and picked up Tommy’s suitcase. 

“Sorry Phil.” Techno said, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand. “Someone had to.”

Phil sighed. “Come on, let’s get in the car. You’ve got everything you need Tommy?”

“Yeah.” Tommy said, staring at Techno. “Techno did you just do what I think you just did?”

Techno shrugged. “Depends on what you think I just did.”

“You _did_. Holy shit you're so cool.” Still not as cool as Phil, Tommy thought, but still pretty fucking cool.

They got to the car and Techno lifted the suitcase into the boot, slotting it in between the computer parts. Tommy got in the back with Phil, thinking that Techno deserved the front seat after punching his dad.

Fuck. Techno had punched his dad. There had to be some kind of consequence for that, right?

He leaned back into the seat, breathing deeply. Whatever the consequence was, he’d deal with it, for now he just had to figure out his next step.

He’d gotten his stuff, now he needed to cancel the access his parents had to his account, however the fuck you were supposed to do that.

The car was silent as everyone got in and Tommy fished his phone out of his pocket, opening his banking app. You could freeze accounts right, that was a thing you could do? He exited the app, opening Google instead.

_‘How to freeze bank account’_

Nothing helpful came up immediately so he tried again, biting his lip.

_‘How to freeze bank account Santander’_

Right, it looked like he could do it through the app. He closed Google and opened the app again, using his fingerprint to verify his identity and searching for the right button. He grinned as he found it, letting out a sigh of relief as pressing the button worked and it said his account was temporarily frozen until he changed it.

He’d done it. What was next?

“Tommy?” His head snapped up at Wilbur’s voice. “Is there more to do in London or should we go home?”

Home. As if they weren’t parked outside the place that Tommy had lived in for sixteen years, but hell, Tommy couldn’t help but feel like Wilbur’s apartment was far more like home than that house had been in a long time.

“No.” Tommy got out eventually. “This was - this was all I needed to do.”

Wilbur nodded and started driving away, presumably back to Brighton. 

Phil sighed. “You should have told us that you wanted to come here Tommy. I understand why you didn’t, but I wish you had.”

“I needed my stuff Phil.” Tommy said, staring into his lap. “I didn’t want them to have it.”

“We could have helped you.” Wilbur offered, voice strained.

Tommy smiled, remembering everything that had just happened and feeling happier than he perhaps should because of it. “You did.”

Wilbur spluttered but Techno laughed a little, making Tommy grin and lean into Phil. His side was really hurting and all he wanted to do was lie down and sleep for three days.

“Go to sleep Tommy.” Phil said, stroking Tommy’s hair. “I’ll wake you when we get home.”

Tommy did, the motion of the car and the hand in his hair sending him to sleep far sooner than he expected, but when his eyes closed, it was with a smile on his face and warmth curling at his chest.

Phil had said they were going home but Tommy couldn’t help but feel that he was already home, in an aging car with the three people that had shown they actually, truly cared about him.

  


He wasn’t sure how long it was before he was awake again, Phil calling his name. 

He sat up, rubbing his eyes and yawning. “Are we home?”

Wilbur smiled at him from the front seat, eyes crinkling. “Yeah, we’re home.”

“Thank fuck.” Tommy said. “Driving is so boring.”

Wilbur rolled his eyes. “As if you know, child.”

Getting out of the car, Tommy frowned. “I am perfectly capable of driving.”

“Let’s test it.” Techno perked up, seemingly excited by the idea.

“Absolutely not.” Phil said, rubbing his hand across his face. “My heart can not deal with that stress.”

Tommy laughed. “It would be fun though.”

“As long as it's not in my car.” Wilbur added.

Wilbur and Techno brought Tommy’s stuff into the apartment and Tommy threw himself onto the couch, half wanting to go straight back to sleep and half wanting to sort out his next move. Phil sat on his left and Wilbur and Techno sat on his right.

Tommy wanted to lean on Phil again but wasn’t sure if he was still allowed — his confusion was solved when Phil opened his arms a little and Tommy didn’t hesitate anymore, burrowing against Phil’s chest. He thought he’d probably had more hugs in the past twenty four hours than he’d had in the past few years.

“You’ve got a choice Tommy.” Phil said, hand stroking through Tommy’s hair again. “We talked in the car and Wil and I are happy for you to stay with us for as long as you need — forever, if you wanted. Or you can go to the police and report what your parents have done, I can’t imagine them allowing you to return to your parents, but they could get you to stay with a relative or be fostered.”

Tommy closed his eyes, considering. The police were an option, objectively, but he could just imagine how the internet would react if they found out and that sounded like his worst nightmare. “I don’t want to go to the police.”

“Okay.” Phil said, not pausing in stroking his hair. “Me or Wilbur then. I know you’re sixteen, and you’re mature for your age, but none of us are all that comfortable with you staying somewhere alone.”

“Actually,” Techno said, “Tommy could stay with me as well.”

Tommy could practically feel the confusion in the air and opened his eyes again, grinning and eager to hear their reaction to the news.

“Uh, I’m pretty sure you live in America, Techno. It’s hard to smuggle teenagers across the ocean.” Wilbur said.

Tommy could hear the grin in Techno’s voice. “Not exactly. I’m moving to England.”

“That’s great!” Phil laughed. “Where to?”

“You complete asshole.” Wilbur said, but when Tommy tuned his head to look, he was beaming. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”

“Probably somewhere around Brighton. I just need to find a place and my stuff will be shipped over.” Techno paused. “But if you want to live with me Tommy, we could look for a place together.”

That sounded… amazing. Phil and Wilbur already had their own homes, places that were without a doubt _theirs_ , but if and Techno looked for somewhere to live together then that place would be for _both_ of them — he wouldn’t have to force himself in and create space for himself.

There was one problem. “I don’t know how much rent is.”

“Good.” Techno said. “You don’t need to know.”

“You don’t have to pay for anything Tommy, no matter which one of us you choose, you’re _sixteen_ , you should be buying crappy toys or saving your money, not paying for bills. That’s our responsibility.” Wilbur all but commanded, leaving no room to argue.

Tommy closed his eyes again, fully leaning back into Phil. “Okay.”

“No one’s going to be offended.” Phil reassured. 

Tommy knew he’d already made his decision. “Finding a place with Techno sounds nice.”

“Yes!” Techno said. “I win.”

Wilbur laughed. “And you say you’re not competitive.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

The repetitive motion in his hair slowly lulled Tommy back to sleep, Wilbur and Techno arguing in the background, content with the knowledge that he was home, he was safe and he was surrounded by his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought of this one! For now I'm considering this one complete, but if you have any specific requests you want to see that happen in this fic then lmk and I'll write it if my brain isn't completely dead. I am but a fool, here to bring you entertainment and nothing more.
> 
> Huge thank you to everyone who commented! You guys have made my year! I'm awful at showing just how much I appreciate them when I reply, but just know that it's a hell of a lot ❤
> 
> I don't know what the next fic will be exactly, but there's a 99.99% chance it will be more Tommy Angst :)
> 
> Also, I've just added it all up, and this chapter alone means that I am owed more silverware, an older sibling, two more kidneys, a muffin, a stolen diamond and ANOTHER first born. You guys are amazing. Holy hell.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Santa, what do you get someone who just wants to be loved?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27871645) by [I_am_a_grenade](https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_am_a_grenade/pseuds/I_am_a_grenade)
  * [to find a family](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28349469) by [ghostbandaids](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostbandaids/pseuds/ghostbandaids)
  * [He took the midnight train (going anywhere)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28183239) by [WeeklyHuffleNerd](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeeklyHuffleNerd/pseuds/WeeklyHuffleNerd)




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